A Jumper for Two
by Anytha84
Summary: "You still have that old jumper?" Leo asked. "It's ruined. You should throw it away." "No way!" Jemma exclaimed. "It's warm and soft... and you gave it to me while we were at MIT." A little peek of future FitzSimmons being adorably in love. -Headcanon series- R


**-HEAD CANON SERIES-**

Ok...I saw a picture on tumblr of a couple hugging, hidden under a sweater and a really cute FitzSimmons scene popped in my head.

Then a whole backstory made its way in my mind and _that_ collided with one of my 50Sentences...and two stories came out of that.

This one and another that follows one of the 50Sentences prompts. They'll both be out this weekend.

I hope you guys like this: I'm giving hints of other prompts that I'll write in a while...

If anyone is actually trying to place this chronologically in my headcanon series, this is set before Prompt 4: Stupidity in the 'FitzSimmons Week: 7 Prompts' story.

Thanks to my Beta StarryDreamer01 who helped me edit this.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN AGENTS OF SHIELD.

* * *

_-:-_

_Time is too slow for those who wait,  
too swift for those who fear,  
too long for those who grieve,  
too short for those who rejoice,  
but for those who love, time is eternity.  
- Henry Van Dyke-  
_

_-:-_

* * *

Jemma ran down the familiar staircase, feeling very much like a little girl who'd been caught doing something that she shouldn't. Namely as her younger self when she was caught awake, reading under her covers with a flashlight, hours after her bedtime.

She skidded to a halt at the last step of the second floor, coming face to face with her mother who was looking at her with a knowing smile that made Jemma want to hide.

"Good morning, darling," her mum greeted her gently.

"Good morning, Mum," Jemma brushed a kiss to her mother's cheek and managed a smile. "Did you...call?" The moment the words were out, she blushed.

Of course she did. Otherwise, Jemma wouldn't have darted out of her bedroom and gone downstairs in a rush before her mum had come up to the third floor.

Jemma decided that confronting her mother with messy hand-brushed hair, a red face and clothes that she had blindly taken from the wardrobe was _infinitely _better than having her knock at her bedroom door. Especially while Leo had been adamant in distracting her with kisses and..._more_.

Right…

She really _shouldn't _be thinking about him and his lips, hands and touch in front of her mother…

However, if the growing smirk on her mum's face was an indicator, she probably guessed what was happening behind the closed door of her daughter's bedroom.

Jemma blushed further. Honestly? She was twenty-eight years old, for Heaven's sake! She was a grown woman and had just got married: she shouldn't be worried about her parents as though she was a teenager with her first boyfriend.

And yet...there she was red and blushing.

"Yes, I just wanted to tell you that your father and I are going to town for some errands and then we're picking up your grandmother. I didn't want to wake you up," Elaine Simmons' tone was light though Jemma detected a small hint of teasing. "Do you need anything from town?"

"Er...No, I don't think so. I packed everything for us: we shouldn't be needing anything." Her mum's smirk widened and Jemma felt another warm wave on her face. "I'll- I'll text you if I need something that I'm forgetting now."

"Right then," Elaine picked her handbag. "We should be back in a few hours." She smiled at her daughter, "I left some eggs and bacon on the stove for both of you."

"Thank you, Mum" Jemma smiled. "See you later."

Her mother waved and walked downstairs; moments later, Jemma heard the front door close, followed by their family car leaving.

She ran a hand through her hair and looked upstairs. She had woken up early after a sudden, confused dream and had started checking the things inside her suitcase and then sorting out Leo's in an attempt to ease her mind. It didn't seem like a bad idea: they were leaving for Paris tomorrow and a last minute check-up wouldn't hurt.

And that sort of nightmare had left her unsettled: she had had them for months after the medpod incident and they re-appeared unexpectedly when she was particularly tired.

Of course, Leo had noticed her absence in bed -they had long gotten used to sleeping close or wrapped around each other- and had seen through her smile, catching her nervousness.

Jemma blushed as she recalled how he gently tugged her close to him, murmuring soft words and unravelled her with kisses and caresses.

They've been together for three years and he _still_ managed to make her breath hitch and heart beat erratically.

All sort of thoughts flooded her mind and Jemma decided that she should get breakfast ready and either call Leo or take a tray upstairs.

She had a definite feeling that if she went upstairs now, breakfast would be the last of her thoughts...

She walked downstairs and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror in the hall and groaned softly.

Her hair wasn't as messy as she expected although a few tendrils flew around her face and her face was slightly flushed with a thoroughly guilty expression.

There was a vivid red mark on her neck; in her haste to get down, she had grabbed one of Leo's old jumpers and it clearly exposed the mark since she swam in the garment.

Jemma blushed again, understanding why her mum had that knowing and knowing smirk.

She entered the kitchen and took two mugs and two plates from the cupboards. She was going to start making tea when she heard footsteps and looked over her shoulder to see Leo, tousled haired and dressed in jeans and a simple white t-shirt, smiling at her.

She wanted to glare at him, knowing that he was the main culprit of her embarrassing encounter with her mum but his smile melted whatever annoyance she felt.

Nevertheless, she turned around towards the table, trying to keep a bit of dignity rather than melting at the loving look her husband was shooting her.

She ignored the little flutter in her stomach as she thought of Leo as her husband: three days and it still seemed like a dream...

The flutter became a full whirlwind when he embraced her from behind, arms entwining her waist and chin resting on her shoulder.

"I thought you'd come back," he whispered softly. Jemma sighed softly, sinking back in his embrace against his chest.

"Serves you right," she whispered back, trying to hold a bit of a grudge with him. "I won't be able to look at Mum's face for ages without blushing."

Leo arched a brow, craning his neck to look at her. Jemma turned in his arms and exposed her neck and red mark.

"_Someone_ got a bit too enthusiastic," she remarked and rolled her eyes when he smirked. "Don't look so smug."

He tightened his hold around her waist and moved down until their foreheads touched.

"You didn't seem... unenthusiastic when it happened," he mused and chuckled when she blushed.

"Prat."

"It's been a while since you called me that."

"Right...and see what happened? You've gotten all cocky and smug." Jemma's fingers laced through his hair just behind his ears. She took in his messy curls and bright blue eyes and smiled.

He still had that soft, gentle look when he smiled at her; the look that he'd been giving her for years, perhaps from the moment they'd first met.

She thought about them at the start: barely fifteen years old but already in Uni, small, full of doubts but eager to learn and desperate to find friends.

They found each other.

Jemma stepped up and brushed her lips on his mouth. Leo looked at her, slightly bemused but softly kissed her back.

"Your parents?" He asked against her lips.

"In town," she replied. "They've got some errands to run and then they're picking up Gran. Mum mentioned that she'd be here with us for lunch today, remember?"

He nodded and she smiled as he started peppering her cheeks and jaw with soft kisses, hands travelling slowly around her waist. His soft smile was still there.

Jemma couldn't help but smile back.

The past three days had them in a sort of happy daze that didn't want to diminish. She honestly didn't know when she'd stop feeling so ridiculously happy: her heart seemed to flutter around her chest on its own accord.

It started around the moment she walked down the aisle, accompanied by her dad, to join Leo and increased when they exchanged vows and the two simple golden rings that were glinting on their ring fingers now.

She wondered if this feeling -this wonderful happiness- would just linger forever or would increase at some point. She had a lifetime to discover that: a lifetime _with_ Leo to see what would happen.

Jemma tugged at his curls to bring him close and kissed him again. She heard him sigh and deepen the kiss and she shivered when his fingers weaved under her jumper and started drawing patterns on her skin.

"Now who's enthusiastic?" He mumbled against her lips.

"I'm newly wedded and going on my honeymoon tomorrow," she retorted, nipping his lower lip softly. "I have every right to be enthusiastic."

"Why is that you're justified and I'm not, huh?" He nosed her chin so that she was looking at him and she found herself staring at him, eyes clear as glass.

"Because I'm not putting you in any embarrassing situation with my mother."

"Not _today_. Do I have to remind you how you literally pounced on me while we doing the dishes two nights ago? And your dad walked in?" Leo moved back, slightly red on the face. "I honestly wanted to hide... or drown in the sink's soap water."

Jemma recalled the way Leo had jumped away from her that night (she hadn't honestly seen or heard her dad and Leo had looked very... kissable right then...) and the terrified look on his face. Her father hadn't really cared; on the contrary, he looked close to laughing his head off.

However, recalling the look on Leo's face made her giggle again: she just couldn't help it.

Leo huffed grumpily and gently poked her side with a finger while his other arm was still around her waist.

"Hey, don't laugh at me!" He complained but his small frown turned into a warm smile as she nodded still laughing.

His hands drifted back to her waist and Jemma noticed how his eyes took a sudden curious look.

"What?" She asked, tilting her head to a side.

"You still have that old jumper?" He asked in return, touching the hem falling past her waistline.

She looked down at herself, taking in the large, light green garment made in thin wool and nodded.

He looked thoughtful and his eyes roamed up and down her body.

"It's ruined," he said as his fingers skimmed a stitched hole. "You should throw it away."

"No way!" She exclaimed, stepping back slightly and running her hands over the little stitches and miniature holes peppered along the jumper. It's wool was still soft even though it had got thinner during the years. "It's warm and soft..." She looked up at him. "And you gave it to me while we were at MIT." Her mouth twitched up into a fond smile as she thought of the way it came into her possession.

Leo shot her an odd look: he was probably reminiscing that moment too. He had been so caring and sweet to her...

"I know: you were a bit off that day," he remarked.

Saying that she had been off was a great understatement: she had been on the verge of a breakdown caused by old fears and nerves. Leo's words and his jumper had calmed her down.

"This was my seventeenth birthday present from Ali," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders and letting them slide down her arms.

"It was?" Jemma's brows shot up into her hairline. She never knew that. "Why didn't you tell me? I would have given it back to you!"

"Alison's given me plenty of clothes throughout the years: you know that. Besides...you seemed pretty fond of this: I didn't mind giving it to you." He grinned teasingly. "But that was before you started stealing my jumpers and shirts."

"I didn't steal your clothes!" Jemma retorted, blushing. She did have a few jumpers in her wardrobe that once belonged to him but _he_ had given them to her.

"I have this one-"

"That was meant to be a borrowed item...but whatever."

"-and the thick blue one that you gave me at the Academy-"

"That you used to wear in our dorm because you were cold. I had to give it you since you were wearing it more often than me."

"-and the grey one-"

"-that I gave to you to stitch after I singed a sleeve while helping you cook; somehow it never came back to me but I did see you wear it a few times in your bunk on the Bus," Leo was grinning. "And... I'm pretty sure that you also have a couple of my MIT t-shirts too."

Jemma felt her face get warmer and she moved closer to him, her hands resting on his chest, fingertips drumming against his cotton t-shirt.

"I admit that I might have taken a couple of your older t-shirts," she said slowly. "I needed something to sleep in during summer."

Leo grinned again. She felt a flutter in her chest: how was is possible that his smile could still make her jittery after all these years?

"Told you," he teased again, wrapping his arms her again and pulling her closer. Jemma mumbled something intelligible under her breath but allowed him to hug her, savouring his warmth.

Her hands moved from his chest to his back, palms wide open and retracing the plains and ridges of his body by heart.

She thought about him when he was seventeen and quickly made a mental comparison. He was sturdier now,muscles more defined after their training with Trip and May. He held himself differently too: Leo was more sure of himself now.

Jemma smiled thinking about the thin and shy boy with whom she had grown up in Uni. Leo would do little things for her, sweet, wonderful acts of gentleness and -she soon realised- friendship and love, and then wondered if he was overstepping or overwhelming her.

They were both so full of doubts back then.

They were both unconsciously drifting from being friends to falling in love; even now, Jemma realised that the shift had been gradual and had sneaked up on them.

How they both thought that they could stay friends while there was clearly so much more between them was beyond her...

Back then, everything had been fuelled by the fear of losing each other, the fear of changing the most important relationship in their lives.

Thinking about it now, not giving in to their feelings had just cemented them in their hearts.

Leo nudged her temple with his nose, drawing her out of her musings and Jemma looked up.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked softly. "Dreams still bothering you?"

Jemma shook her head, smiling.

"No, I was just thinking about us during MIT," she replied, stepping up on her toes to brush a kiss against his mouth before looking at him.

He still had the same messy mop of sandy brown curls that flew in every direction (though she did realise that _she_ might be responsible of their current state...) and the same brilliant blue eyes.

Leo was older and wiser now, perhaps a little less naïve and hardened after their years on the Bus but he still had that pure goodness in his heart.

Even the medpod incident hadn't destroyed that.

Her quick mind made her go back to the days when Leo was in coma after the incident. Those five days when she didn't know if he was going to wake up, if he would be coming back to her, had been the worse of her life.

She had tried to keep herself together and not cry or break down despite Skye's soft attempts to comfort her or the compassionate looks coming from May, Coulson and Trip.

She had held herself together, bottling up her feelings: she didn't want to give in to her frail emotions. She just wanted Leo back.

But then, on the third day of his coma when the hope of him waking up was slowly diminishing, she'd found the jumper she was currently wearing.

Jemma spent all her time between the lab and Leo's bedside; she spent every night in his room, sleeping (more like dozing occasionally) on a chair.

It had been very cold in the Playground that night and she had reluctantly gone to her newly assigned room to get something warmer.

When her quick rummaging had her finding the old green jumper, her heart had stopped: she didn't even remember that she had brought it with her on the Bus.

It was as though a dam had been broken inside of her: all the memories and thoughts of Leo and them together throughout the years flooded back.

And his hesitant, sincere words from then echoed in her head.

"_What am I even doing here if not to help you out when you need it?"_

The tears had started to fall without her consent. Jemma started to wonder what _she_ was doing there, waiting helplessly, while he needed her.

All the fears that she'd been pushing to a side of her mind came back at full force: he might not wake up, he might wake up and not remember her, he might wake up and be completely different.

Her Leo might be lost forever...and all because he loved her to the point of risking his life for her safety.

Jemma spent half an hour, locked in her room, muffling desperate sobs against her pillow and clutching the old jumper as a lifeline. She didn't know if her teammates had heard her but no one had ever addressed the issue.

It was the only time that she had cried without having Leo to comfort her...

"Jemma?"

She looked up and found Leo looking at her with concerned eyes.

"What's wrong, love?" He whispered, moving his hands to cup her face. "Tell me what's wrong."

A warm wave of affection filled her heart as she shook her head and moved her hands on his.

"Nothing," she replied. "I was just...thinking."

He didn't look convinced: he knew her well enough to know when she wasn't telling him something. "Nothing is troubling me, Leo," she said, smiling. "Really, sweetheart, I just got lost in a train of thoughts."

"You sure?" He looked at her with inquisitive eyes.

"Yes..." She stole another kiss from him. "I'll tell you later..." She rarely mentioned her distress during his coma but Leo knew that it had been hard on her.

He waited for her to talk about it and never inquired for details.

He nodded in agreement and held her against him. Jemma smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I'm not throwing this jumper away any time soon," she announced after a moment of comfortable silence, moving back slightly. He looked at her oddly and gave her a crooked smile.

"Alright..." He conceded. "Keep that old thing that's wide enough to cover both of us."

Jemma rolled her eyes at his words.

"You're exaggerating," she retorted. "It just got a bit loose on the ends after a few washes."

He tilted his head and looked at her oddly again. Jemma barely had the time to wonder what was going on in his head when she caught a teasing glint in his eyes and he bent down, hands rucking up her jumper.

"_Leo_!" She squeaked, not expecting him to _undress her_ in her family's kitchen.

However that wasn't his intent...

He pushed her gently against the table as his hands lifted the jumper up to her rib cage and he swiftly slipped beneath it.

Jemma was so surprised that she didn't even move her arms from his neck. She felt cool air hit her stomach and lower back and then the warmth of Leo's body against her as his hands rested gently around her waist and the small of her back.

Their height difference caused the jumper to slide over her head and she suddenly found herself staring at her husband's blue eyes dimmed by the little light that their impromptu woolly tent was casting on them.

"See?" Leo remarked as though he was proving a point. He was grinning in a way that made her want to kiss him senseless _or_ slap him across the head.

She tightened the hold around his neck, getting closer to him.

"You're a moron," she said with a smile, gently headbutting his jaw. "I married an utterly foolish moron."

"Exactly: _you_ married," he teased, brushing his lips against her eyelids. "Sorry, Mrs. Fitz, but your fate is sealed." He moved down and kissed her lips.

Jemma felt a warm flutter in her heart for his kiss and his words.

"I might get used to be called like that," she murmured against his lips. Leo beamed at her.

At the beginning, she had been wondering whether to keep her surname for the sake of her career since all her work, papers and devices were linked to the name Simmons.

But then she realised that everything she had done was linked to Fitz too. And now that they were rebuilding their lives after having deleted everything about them, they were still tightly entwined.

They had been FitzSimmons from the start: they'd be FitzSimmons until the end of their lives.

"Good," he replied, kissing her again. "I'm not going to stop calling you like that." His hand moved down and splayed across her hip. "Ever."

Jemma beamed at him and stepped up to kiss him thoroughly. When they moved back for air, they stayed close, noses brushing.

"We should do this more often," Leo commented softly and Jemma snorted.

"What? Kiss under an old, woolly jumper?" She nudged his cheekbone with her nose.

"Why not?" He moved to kiss a spot below her jaw and she had to bite her lip to keep herself from moaning. "Though...it's a tad stuffy."

Jemma giggled softly.

"_You_ would worry about that..." She forced him to look at her, stopping him from... distracting her. "I'm thinking what would happen if someone saw us like this."

She thought about it and then shook her head as she imagined Skye seeing them: she'd be _terrible_ about it.

"Skye'd have a field day," Leo remarked, leaning against her. Jemma glanced at him under her lashes and smiled; of course, they'd be thinking the same thing.

"Trip would take pictures...and tease us forever."

"May and Coulson...Oh, God... I don't even want to imagine what they would think or do," Leo blanched and Jemma giggled again.

He looked at her and smiled, resting his head against her forehead.

"I have the feeling that if Mum and Dad saw us now, they'd either laugh or just smile," Jemma confessed, thinking about her parents. They had probably known from the start that she and Leo were falling for each other, even when Jemma was still oblivious about her feelings. "I'd be actually weary if Gran caught us though..."

Leo snorted.

"Why, she'd be scandalised?" He chortled.

"No, nothing would surprise Gran: she's a purebred English woman," Leo laughed again. "She'd probably tease us and then start her tirade of : "Stop wasting time and give me a great-grandchild: I'm not dying until I have one."

Jemma blushed, recalling the first time her grandmother had come up with the subject (when she'd learned of their engagement) and how Jemma had been unable to come up with a retort.

They had barely talked about having a family of their own. It would happen, sooner or later...but not now that they were so deep inside SHIELD.

Leo brushed a kiss to her temple.

"Oh, I heard that already," he said. "Yeah... that would be embarrassing."

She looked at him, arching brow.

"When exactly did you have this conversation with my gran?"

"Er...on the phone... a while ago..." Leo blushed and Jemma's curiosity peaked. She moved her arms and drew him in closer.

"What shenanigans have you been getting into with my grandmother?" She did have a hint though. It had to do something with her engagement ring: the ring that once belonged to her grandmother and that her grandfather had given her when they were younger.

"Hmm..." Leo bit his lower lip and then moved down to kiss her. Jemma couldn't really bring herself to protest much.

"Not...," she whined softly when she managed to pull away, dazed and breathless. "... fair." He did that every now and then to shift her attention...and he managed it very well.

"I'll tell you sometime," he whispered, moving his hand up her back and bringing her even closer to him. His boyish smile and glowing eyes filled her vision and she was lost.

Any thought that wasn't Leo fled Jemma's mind as he kissed her again.

-:-

They managed to disentangle themselves after a while when the kisses became more heated and their hands ventured over to less innocent territories.

Jemma managed to focus again when she realised that they were in her parents' kitchen and she really didn't want to do _anything_ there.

As Leo grinned sheepishly, tugging her jumper back down after he'd gotten out of it, and helped her prepare breakfast, Jemma wondered if they'd be so mindlessly dazed for long.

A smiled snuck up her face as she imagined herself in the future, older, greyer but still hopelessly in love with Leo.

They had a quick breakfast and went back up to her room. Their suitcases and backpacks were packed and waiting in a corner. The two beds that had been in her room since they were sixteen were now pushed together to make one and had been neatly made: Leo had learned to be more neat throughout the years...

He dug out his tablet from his backpack and opened one the many tourist guides he'd downloaded as he propped himself against the pillows of their bed. Jemma followed him immediately and curled herself against his body.

Director Coulson had been incredibly generous with them and had given them a full month of leave as a wedding gift.

It had been ages since they'd had a vacation, even more since they'd had time alone for themselves. A month was an enormous stretch of time.

They had both decided to see more of Europe and Leo had given in to her old desires of wanting to see Italy. He had browsed the Internet for days and had come up with an organised and not too hectic trip that allowed them to see Paris for a few days before going down to Italy where they'd see Venice, Florence and then Rome where they'd stop for a while; after that, they'd head to Spain and see Madrid and Barcelona.

It seemed like an incredibly quick paced and tiring journey but Leo had organised it well, booking planes, trains and small hotels so that they'd have fun during everything and not be tired out.

They had left the last week or so free so that they could go wherever they wanted, on the whim of the moment. Jemma was going to suggest Berlin: Leo had always wanted to visit the city.

As they were there in bed together, talking about the Louvre and all the things they wanted to see in Paris, Jemma glanced at him.

Leo was smiling softly, eyes trained on the tablet that he was holding with one hand while his free arm was wrapped around her waist. When their eyes met, she smiled and leaned forward to peck his jaw.

"Excited?" He asked, hugging her closer.

"Yeah..." She admitted, snuggling into him. "I can't even remember the last time we'd had so much free time together."

"I don't think we'd ever had this much time off," He looked thoughtful. "I think the most had been a couple of weeks and we were at MIT..."

"I can't wait to see Europe with you..." She kissed his chin and he smiled.

"Me too, love," Leo dropped the tablet on the bed and gently tugged her up so that she was lying on him. The soft look he was giving her made her want to kiss him all over again.

She managed to restrain herself (her parents were due to be back any minute) and nuzzled his neck.

"A whole month alone..." She mused.

"Yeah... just us," he confirmed, brushing a kiss to her temple. She felt his lips quirk upwards and glanced at him.

"What?" She arched a brow.

"I was just wondering how many of my jumpers and shirts will become yours," He grinned teasingly.

"Prat," she said, sticking out her tongue. "Wait until we're back and we've officially moved into our new room at the Headquarters. We'll be sharing a wardrobe."

"Bloody Hell, I won't have clothes anymore... Well, you wouldn't mind that." Jemma whacked his arm and he laughed.

"Whatever happened to the shy boy I met at MIT?" She carded her fingers through his hair. They were slightly longer now although he had had them groomed for the wedding.

She recalled the messy curls that Leo sported at Uni and smiled.

"Well, he fell in love with his best friend and got more self-assured," he replied, twisting around so that she was lying on bed now. "But only with her..."

Jemma beamed.

"Good to know," She kissed his nose. "Love you..."

Leo smiled.

"Love you too..."

They had a whole new life awaiting them. For the first time, Jemma didn't feel doubts.

Leo was with her.

As always. Forever.

* * *

If you survived this married-FitzSimmons fluff attack, please leave a review... XD


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